All Things: Side Stories
by Amaryllis D. Namikaze
Summary: Basically side stories, one-shots, drabbles and prompts from my SI-OC story "All Things Are Difficult Before They Are Easy". Yaoi Shikaku/OC
1. The Bathhouse

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto of any of its characters.**

 **Warning: possible rating changes for each chapter. Pay attention, guys!**

 **Author's note:**

The promised Side Stories are finally here! You can keep sending me prompts through reviews here or PM or in _All Things Are Difficult Before They Are Easy_ (man, fucking big title. Wonder why I chose, really. Oh, well.)

 _ **This chapter in particular is a side story to All Things as instead of just a prompt.**_

Enjoy it and tell me what you think and what you want to see!

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 **All Things: Side Stories**

 _By Amaryllis D. Namikaze_

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 **Chapter I:**

The Bathhouse

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 **Prompt:**

 _\- Sora:_

 _For the side-story... I would love to read about an onsen trip with kumi and his team and their reactions to the bathing men and boys that mistake kumi for a girl - I'm certain it would be fun, when you're going to write it that is._

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First of all, I didn't want to look like a freaking girl.

Somehow, when my very being was formed, my genes mixed in a way that made me destined to be confused as a person of the opposite gender. I didn't choose this. I don't think anyone would choose this if they had the option to do so.

(Frankly, it's like I was the Haku of this generation.)

Sakumo-sensei had had the brilliant idea to stop by an onsen during our trip back to Konoha. According to him, a thermal bath would be relaxing so close to the Chūnin Exams. Ren had been the first one to agree, sprouting something or another about us being beat into the ground during training every day and missions.

I had thought _Why not?_ I had never used a public bathhouse before. My first life was spent in London - did these things even exist there? - so it was no surprise. As for this life, well, I wasn't the epitome of shameless. The only reason I agreed to go at all was because I didn't really know how to disagree when everyone else was in agreement.

To the bathhouse we went.

"I'm so excited to finally relax," Ren said cheerfully, skipping down the corridor to the changing room like Little Red Riding Hood.

"Me too," Chitarō agreed. I had the distinct impression that he wanted to relax from something different. Probably from Ren's exuberant personality. Or maybe he just wanted to take a nap - missions never let him sleep as much as he wanted.

The changing rooms were surprisingly empty, though we could hear voices coming all the way from the bath. As soon as the door closed behind Sakumo-sensei, Ren started taking his shirt off. I paused for the longest minute of my life, unsure. My old life's body had been ugly and scrawny - _hadn't it? I couldn't even bring it to my mind anymore -_ whereas this one was perfectly normal. A little on the pale side, sure, but normal enough. But I couldn't bring myself to take my clothing off in front of other people without shying away, even though these were some of my most trusted friends.

"C'mon, slowpokes!" Ren shouted, a towel tied around his hips. He ran into the steam gathered around the open bath. A few seconds later, a splash was heard. Some voices complained at the racket.

Chitarō rolled his eyes.

"Goodness, he's completely shameless."

Sakumo-sensei laughed good-naturedly, "Let him be. It's been a long time since we've sat down and relaxed."

My best friend glanced at me, curious.

"You're not going to enter the bath, Kumi?"

"Huh?" I eloquently made. "Ah, I will." _As soon as I gather enough courage to tie such a tiny towel around my hips and go bathe with other men._.

I wish Ren hadn't made a remark about Shikaku and I going on a date a couple of weeks ago. It hadn't been true, of course, but it had reminded me of my little problem called homosexuality, even though it wasn't a problem per se in this world. My body was still that of a pre-teen in this life, but my mind was mature enough to be aware of other - naked - people. Really.

Five minutes later - it took that long to make my nerves stop trying to make me give up on public bathhouses - the rest of Team One went out of the changing rooms. At first, I couldn't make out the bath itself due to the steam rising from it, but as soon as we reached it, my eyes grew to the size of two plates.

In one word, it was relaxing. It was one of those Japanese open baths - bamboo, rocks and shower heads in a corner. All the works. It seemed like it was straight out of a manga or something. I could feel my problems melting away as I approached the water.

Well, all problems but one...

"A... girl?" A masculine voice questioned, sounding confused.

"Girl?" Other voices echoed, managing to sound delighted and hungry all at the same time.

... My appearance.

"IT'S A GIRL!" A distinctly young voice shouted and the owner, a fourteen or fifteen years old boy stood up, pointing at me.

I stepped back. Chitarō put himself in front of me, glaring. Sakumo-sensei raised his hands in attempt to calm the other men.

"It's my student, Kumi-chan, but-"

 _Wrong thing to say, sensei_ , I thought to myself, wanting nothing more than to be swallowed by the ground. You don't put _-chan_ in a eleven-year-old boy's name when trying to explain why he looked like a freaking girl so freaking much.

"GIRL!" Another bunch of teenagers shouted excitedly. They didn't seem to mind that my chest was absolutely flat, which either meant that I was too young for them or - _ooh, imagine it! -_ a boy.

It took ten minutes, a failed lower grope (Chita got so mad the poor fellow went flying to the women's side and came back all bruised) and my ninja ID to prove my gender. Needless to say, I wasn't going to another public bathhouse so soon. My team probably wouldn't let me anyway.

Yep. Definitely the Haku of this generation.


	2. The Interruption

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. I do own Kumi, though.**

 **Warning: possible rating changes for each chapter.**

 **Rating for this chapter: T (but I could be wrong. Shikaku's thoughts are pretty bad. Nothing too dirty this time, though. Warn me if I'm wrong.)**

 **Author's note:**

Sooo, I've been working on the next chapter of All Things Are Difficult Before They Are Easy and Until Forever Quietly Slipped Away when I got bored. This prompt was written during my boredom. I hope it pleases you guys!

(YES! YES! There it is! A Shikaku/Kumi scene - the long awaited scene - the one you've been bothering me for ages for! BROWNIE POINTS FOR ALL!)

 _ **LAST WARNING:**_ _this story isn't necessarily connected to the original All Things Are Difficult Before They Are Easy._ _ **This one-shot doesn't mean that things will progress this way in this exact timeline.**_ _It's only a prompt by a very nice reviewer. Just enjoy, seriously._

 **Point of view: Shikaku's.**

* * *

 **All Things: Side Stories**

 _By Amaryllis D. Namikaze_

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 **Chapter 2:**

 **The Interruption**

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 **Prompt:**

 _\- StrawberryObsession:_

 _It might be good to set one in the beginning stages of some sort of romantic relationship between Shikaku and Kumi where things are still a little uncertain and shaky. Have Kumi be jealous for some reason or another and Shikaku can't help but feign ignorance and let him stew for a while because he thinks Kumi is just too adorable and lovable before reassuring him._

* * *

 _That's... adorable_ , I admitted to myself.

Technically speaking, I wasn't the kind of guy who said words such as _cute_ or _adorable_. Inoichi - or even friendly, kind Chōza - would point and laugh at me if they ever heard me uttering such adjectives. Hell, I'd hit myself if my mind didn't freeze every time I saw my boyfriend's face.

Kumi and I hadn't been going out for what was considered that long of a time - only three months. It was longer than I was used to, though. Most of my flings, because that's what they were compared to my current relationship, were usually ended by me after three or four weeks. I once dated a girl for five days before becoming too annoyed with her attitude.

(Chitarō had said I was too picky. I had told him to shut his trap and eat his fucking dinner. Kindly.)

Had Kumi been any of the other girls I dated, I'd probably be shagging him by now. But he was sweet and somewhat naive. I didn't want to go too fast and end up messing everything up. Not mention his demonic older brother. He'd tear me to pieces if I had sex, or anything close to it, with his fifteen-year-old sweetheart.

Kumi, however, was making it difficult for me by acting _so damn cute_ every time we met each other. He was totally clueless about our surroundings - which was nice, in a way, since it meant he was paying attention to me - and didn't notice any of the looks he attracted while we were in public. I certainly noticed.

(Coincidentally enough, it also was nice to know that I was feared.)

This day in particular, he won the prize for Cutest of the Year. He'd just gotten back from a mission with his tea, looking tense and worried, which I attributed to the new dynamics he'd told me about before. I decided to treat him to tea and any kind of sweet he wanted, as Kumi had the biggest sweet tooth I'd ever seen.

I had thought, like an idiot, _What can go wrong?_

We hadn't seen each other in a couple of weeks. I missed his body heat during my afternoon naps. A date would get us in the right mood and I honestly didn't mind entertaining him for awhile, as long as he kept smiling and shit.

(God, he made me such a sap.)

Things are never this simple.

"We wrapped it up quicker than we thought," Kumi was telling me, his eyes sparkling in happiness at the traditional sweets in a plate. He stopped for a moment, thinking. "Chita broke his right wrist, though. It looked painful."

I patted his head from my seat on the other side of the low table. He seemed genuinely upset, which was all that surprising. Kumi took things too personally. I always told him to relax and let everything fall into place.

"Chita is most likely enjoying the small break this will give to your team," I said, chuckling at the thought of my brother dead asleep in his bedroom. Yep, the jerk was probably taking advantage of the leave you'd get when injured.

Kumi smiled at me, "You don't look worried."

I snorted.

"Chitarō can take care of himself, of that I'm sure. You, on the other hand," I said, pointedly looking at the recently-made stitches over his eyebrow.

He startled.

"Ah, this? Huh, it was nothing really. Doctor-san even said that this wouldn't even leave a scar."

I sighed, "As if I was preoccupied with scars. I want to know how it happened, stupid."

Kumi blushed until the tips of his hair. I laughed at him embarrassment. His face was too endearing when red.

"Shikaku?" A female voice called me from my right, sounding surprised with a hint of happiness.

I inwardly groaned. Great. Just what I needed. Someone interrupting my date.

Kumi looked at me questioningly, no doubt having noticed my distress. For someone so clueless about others' reaction to him, he sure was perceptive when my mood changed.

I glanced at my right, taking into account the woman standing beside our table. She was pretty decent with her dark brown hair and hourglass figure. _Her personality, though_ , I thought to myself, remembering where I'd seen her face before. An ex. An ex-girlfriend was seriously interrupting my date.

(That's the part where Inoichi annoyingly says I'm head over heels in love. Shut up.)

"Shikaku, I haven't seen you in so long," she said, bending down to deliver a kiss a couple of centimeters beside my mouth. My immediate reaction was to glance at Kumi, too see if he was distressed because he was such a crybaby, but he seemed well enough.

"Amaya," I sighed.

I found my eyebrow ticking when she sat with us around the low table without being invited. Hiki Amaya was one of those irritating civilians girls - nice to look at, detestable to talk with. I'd gone out with her for one week or something almost two years ago, but her tendency to be annoying was remarkable enough to still remember her.

Amaya turned her eyes to Kumi, who was eating the last two chrysanthemum-shaped wagashi. I noticed the exact moment her expression became sour. Her lips twisted downwards, making her usually tolerable features turn into an ugly grimace. My eyes narrowed.

"And who is this?" She asked, clearly directing her question towards me, as if Kumi was too little to comprehend our conversation.

This was one of these moments I wished Kumi would be more proactive instead of shy, if only to show one up other people. But there was nothing I could do about. And it wasn't of his personality to be mean to others, anyway.

"Namikaze Kumi," I answered in a clipped voice. I knew Amaya well enough to know that this wouldn't satisfy her, but I frankly didn't care.

"Oh, little cousin?"

I rolled my eyes. I knew - and she did too - that Kumi couldn't be a cousin of mine. Everyone directly related to the Nara clan was dark-haired. Even the families descended from my clan were full of brunettes. Kumi, with his golden-platinum hair and kaleidoscope-gray eyes, wouldn't ever manage to pass for a Nara. Thank God, too.

"My boyfriend."

A shocked silence. I could imagine what was going through her head. Homosexuality was common, of course, but not really among clan heirs. We had to produce more heirs and keep our line alive. Male lovers would always be that in the public's eyes - lovers.

Amaya seemed to have reached the same conclusion, for she stretched her upper body toward me. Her low cute shirt was a size too small.

"Would you like to meet up again another day?" She threw a smirk at Kumi. "Alone, perhaps?"

As she had her entire body in my direction, she couldn't see the way Kumi's doe-like eyes narrowed. I teased him all the time for being incapable of properly glaring at people, especially since his older brother's glare was terrifying, but I'd obviously never seen this face of his. It was as if he could set anyone aflame with his eyes only.

This made me more excited than I cared to admit.

"You know," Kumi finally opened his mouth. His tone was light and innocent. "All the make-up and clothes in the world won't change what an ugly person you are."

Amaya froze in surprise, before starting to foam at the mouth. I stayed silent, trying to control my laughter like I never had before. How I loved Kumi's sassy side - it was a pity I didn't get to see it more often.

"Look here, little boy, this is between me and Shikaku. You're his _boyfriend_ ," she mocked, "but I bet you're just a toy. What he needs is a _woman_ who can take care of his needs and give him an h-"

I interrupted her saying, putting a hand in front of her mouth, though not directly touching her. It had been fun and all to see Kumi's jealous side, since I was the one to get possessive all the damn time, but I didn't need this to end in tears. I _really_ didn't need to have a girl telling my boyfriend that he couldn't give me an heir.

(As if I hadn't noticed he was a boy and had a dick. Frankly.)

"I'd tell you to go fuck yourself, but I'm sure you'd disappointed," I told Amaya almost in a whisper. Not because I'd rather not be seen as the Nara heir causing a scene, but because I couldn't stand shouting even when angry. If I started irrationally screaming during a fight, I'd never end up right.

Amaya's face got so red - from shame or rage, who knew? - that I was surprised she didn't explode right then. Huffing, trembling in anger, she got up and walked away. Except for the couple beside our table, no one in the small café seemed to have noticed our brief discussion.

I glanced at Kumi. He was looking at the empty plate with a guilty expression.

"Hey," I called.

"Sorry," he said, playing with the napkin. "I, I don't what came over me."

As his eyes were decisively looking away from my face, he didn't see the way my lips twisted up at this. There were times I wished my boyfriend was a little less shy, yes, but - at the end of the day - I'd always have him the way he was. He was a crybaby, but he was _my_ crybaby.

(And damn Inoichi if he said one more time that I was too possessive. I was the boyfriend of the cutest guy in the village.)

"Hey," I called again, holding his chin up, "I didn't say anything."

He frowned, confused.

"But she was your ex-girlfriend, right? I, I mean," he stammered when my eyebrows shot up. So he _had_ noticed. Well, Kumi was innocent, not an idiot. "What if you broke up but remained friends? I'd feel bad if-"

I chuckled, effectively stopping his excuses.

"Believe me - none of my ex-girlfriends would ever wish to remain friends with me after I told them to leave me alone."

"But she seemed willing enough to get back together," Kumi murmured - almost thunderously, I might add. His cheeks were red in embarrassment, but his nose was scrunched up in irritation.

 _Don't laugh at his cute face_ , I told myself. _He'd only get more embarrassed._

"And who cares what she wanted? I'd never get back together with a harpy like her," I reassured him. A smirk took up my face when I stretched across the table, whispering smugly, "I don't need anyone else when I can have your adorableness all to myself."

His face, if it was possible, got even redder. He lightly hit my hand over the table.

"Shikaku!" Kumi reprehended.

"What? It's true."

"Don't say such things in public."

"I will do much worse things in public if you keep being this cute."

He remained silent, trying to look everywhere except my face. I couldn't help it - I laughed.

Yep, too adorable.

(Though help me if Inoichi said _one more thing..._ )


End file.
